Albany Pre-show

After a nice, long drive from Charlottesville to Albany, it was great to pull up the venue at which so many great Grateful Dead shows took place, and we even stayed at the same hotel I used to stay at 16-19 years ago. Pretty cool. The city hasn’t changed much, and we had a great night hanging out on Lark Street. For an east coast burrito joint, Bombers should be proud. It’s a hip little neighborhood, and just a short walk from the venue. The load in was during a crisp but sunny morning, and everything is running smoothly. Spirits keep getting higher as the shows keep getting better. Now a Friday night in a classic Grateful Dead venue bodes well for a fun night of music. Preparations are going well for tomorrow’s live broadcast from Worcester. People are beginning to fill the streets of Albany as the weather keeps getting warmer.

Although the Knickerbocker, er, Times Union Center is quite a bit bigger than the Charlottesville arena, it feels so small. Maybe it’s due to familiarity of having been here so often in the past. Walking around the venue earlier today I forget that I’d seen Robert Hunter here at the Palace Theatre in 1997, just down the street from the Knickerbocker.

Set 1

Another blast of pre-1970, with Casey Jones and Cold Rain and Snow opening the show. Cold Rain has always been one of my favourites and this one was played beautifully and had everyone up and dancing. Jeff’s swirling organ filled the room, and everyone played their hearts out on top of that. Terrific stuff. Following that with another old one, New Minglewood Blues, had everyone smiling, plus a tasty Into The Mystic sung by Warren was a nice surprise. And then came the 1980s, with a bluesy, raunchy West LA Fadeaway. Crazy stuff. Following that came another dose of 1970-1971, Brown Eyed Women (with a great intro!) followed by Cumberland Blues, with Phil laying down that wonderful Cumberland bass line. All in all a very, very good and solid first set that everyone loved.

Set 2

Everyone was thrilled with the second set opener, Viola Lee Blues! And it went on and on with some crazy way-out-there jams! Excuse the exclamation points, but it was smoking!! That fell into a beautiful Sugaree with Warren providing some soulful vocals. Out of the ashes of Sugaree came a deep and powerful The Other One, complete with roaring Phil bass intro. Bobby has been playing really great this tour, and tonight is the clearest and loudest I’ve yet heard him, and his playing is high on the wow-factor. Derek on the recording crew thought this Other One was really a cooker, and he was right. Another excellent Rhythm Devils came next, with Billy and Mickey playing some inspired sounds, as we journeyed through space with them. Out of Space came Comes A Time, and a friend pointed out that it was on 3/27/93 at this very same venue that both Casey Jones and Comes A Time were played, just as they both were tonight. Thanks DG for the historical reminder. That show in 1993 was the only time I saw either of those tunes live. After Comes A Time came a long, very jammed out Unbroken Chain, a song I’ll never tire of. Everyone kept pushing that instrumental groove harder under it all fell back into the final verse. Well done! A Throwing Stones emerged from that, one of Bobby’s finest compositions. What a freaking show! Throwing Stones was a nice way to end the second set, and as a continuation of that usual sequence, the nice encore of Not Fade Away.

Oh, and on a side note, the lights look amazing at these shows! Dan English, the lighting designer, has done a wonderful job lighting these concerts.

Thanks Albany, for another great of music. It was always my favourite tour stop in 1990-1993, and tonight was the best night yet, and that’s saying a lot considering how much fun it’s been so far. On to Worcester, for two nights at the Centrum (or whatever it’s called now).

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